


The Forgotten Life

by Relh99



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Brothers, Minor Character Death, More characters to be added, Multiple original characters - Freeform, No Romance, Original Character Death(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rewrite, Twins, doesn't follow any one game, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-29 01:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16734627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relh99/pseuds/Relh99
Summary: Stories of the legendary hero have been pasted down for generations. Rumors said that he would return when Hyrule needed him most. However, having an over protective mother and twin brother makes it a little harder to become a hero. Link promised his family he wouldn't leave them before turning fifteen, but certain events keep happening, calling him to take on the hero title before he's ready. On top of that, Link's brother, Zach, feels left behind despite being the older twin. When your brother is destined to be the hero of Hyrule, it's hard to not feel like you're living in the shadows.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewrite of a fic I wrote 6 years ago. I've been trying to rewrite the first chapter for almost 2 years now. After many different versions, I finally found an opening I can be happy with. While the original fic is hard to find, I still felt the need to emphasize the fact that this is a rewrite in case anyone stumbles across the original fic. Very few have read it, but it's still out there if you search hard enough. (There's even a sequel and an unfinished trilogy).
> 
> I'm really looking forward to this. It feels nice to come back to this fic after all of these years! 
> 
> As of right now, I don't have an update schedule. More chapters are coming, but I don't know when. Hopefully it won't take another two years to get another chapter done. (It won't, I'm sure of it!)

_The ring of clashing metal echoed in the sealed off room. Water splashed up with every strike, making it difficult to see. Link suddenly recoiled in pain. He reached up to touch the new cut on his cheek, just below his right eye. He grimaced and his fingertips came away bloody._

_“Seriously?” His enemy giggled. The sound echoed unnaturally in the chamber, and even though the water had stopped splashing, Link couldn’t make out where his opponent was. “One cut and you’re taken out of the moment? You’re not gonna survive this if a little scratch is enough to distract you!”_

_The faint sound of rippling water behind him was the only clue Link had telling him where his enemy was. He spun around just in time to raise his shield against an attack that was headed straight for his back._

_“Of course, you’d aim there,” Link chuckled humorlessly. “You stabbed me in the back years ago. Why would now be any different?”_

_“You haven’t changed,” his opponent smirked._

_“Wish I could say the same about you,” Link frowned._

_The fight continued. With every attack, with every cut, with every shared insult, Link found himself reflecting on everything in his life that led to this moment; Everything that went wrong in just the right way to place the two of them in this very room and this very moment, fighting to the death, where no one would walk out a winner._

 

“Race ya!”

At those words, the two brothers tore across the open field, pushing their mounts to go faster. Zach was ahead by just a hair, but the cocky grin on his face made it look like he already won. Link gritted his teeth and patted Epona’s neck.

“Come on, girl!” he begged. “If Zach wins, we’ll never hear the end of it!”

“You got that right!” the older twin laughed. “All I need is one win against you. Orcus and I have been training for this!”

Zach and Orcus pulled a little more ahead to Link’s dismay. Epona was holding steady, but Orcus still managed to keep the lead. Once the wall surrounding Castle Town was in sight, Zach laughed and made a comment about having the race in the bag. Link ignored his brother though, instead focusing on Orcus. The horse had started slowing down. They started too fast and now Orcus was losing steam.

Link grinned and pushed Epona a little harder, taking full advantage of the situation. Zach’s laughter started to die down as Link and Epona took the lead. Link turned around as best he could to stick his tongue out at his brother. Zach growled in frustration and tried to get Orcus to go a little faster, but it was too late. Link and Epona had managed to reach the drawbridge leading into Castle Town first. Link let out a victorious cheer while Orcus slowed to a stop.

Zach sighed in defeat and dismounted. Link jumped down and the twins lead their horses over the bridge and towards the stables.

“We almost had ya,” Zach said, elbowing Link’s arm.

“You’ve been saying that for months!” Link laughed. “Just admit it, Epona and I are just a better team than you and Orcus.”

“I’ll admit that Ilia pulled some strings to make sure you got the faster horse,” Zach teased. Orcus huffed in what sounded like annoyance. Zach winced and patted his horse’s neck. “Nothing against you, Orcus! You’re great! We just gotta work a little harder if we wanna beat ‘em.”

The two brothers handed over their horses to the stable boy along with a few rupees as thanks for watching them.

“Make sure they get plenty of water and hay,” Link said as his brother started pulling him into the town. “They ran here, so please- Zach, I’m trying to talk to them!”

Zach rolled his eyes and kept dragging Link along. “They know what they’re doing. Epona and Orcus will be fine. I’d rather not be here all day, so we gotta get moving.”

“What’s even on ma’s list?” Link asked, pulling his arm out of Zach’s grip. He still stayed close to Zach though since, like always, Castle Town was overly crowded and the pair didn’t want to risk getting separated.

“Wheat, rice, four, salt-”

“Boring!” Link groaned. “Anything sweet?”

“…Sugar?” Zach said, raising his voice slightly, making it sound more like a question.

Link shrugged. “Eh, good enough I guess.”

The shopping itself was easy. Between Zach’s way with words and Link’s sweet, childlike demeaner, the twins managed to avoid paying full price for everything. The older lady who sold them the sugar even offered the two a small bag of honey candies on the house.

After the shopping was done, the pair found themselves in an alleyway sitting on wooden crates, away from the crowd.

“I see why ma always sends us to do the shopping for her,” Link said, popping one of the candies in his mouth. “Saves money in the long run.”

“Don’t think we’ll be able to get away with it forever though,” Zach chuckled. “You’re bound to grow out of the whole cute kid act eventually.”

Link shrugged. “Eh, hopefully by then I’ll be a knight and making enough money to help support y’all.”

“Ya know you don’t have to become a knight if you don’t wanna,” Zach said, taking a candy for himself. “Just because you got that destiny triangle doesn’t mean you don’t have a say in what you get to do with your life.”

“Yeah, I know,” Link said, rolling his eyes. “But what if I choose to stay on the farm and Hyrule needs me to step up and be a hero?”

“You’re twelve,” Zach deadpanned. “If anyone in Hyrule- hell, if the goddesses themselves expect you to be a hero at age twelve, then they’re delusional.”

Link huffed in annoyance. “I don’t think they’re expecting me to do anything _now_! I meant in the future.”

“Look, you’re getting worked up over nothing,” Zach sighed. “If ya wanna become a knight, no one’s gonna stop you. But just know none of us expect you to commit yourself to something you don’t wanna do just because some glowy triangle says otherwise.”

“You’re telling me that if one of the goddesses came down and told you to drop everything and serve the royal family, you wouldn’t listen?” Link chuckled.

“Hell no!” Zach laughed. “I have no desire to work for the royal family. Nothing against them, but that sounds like a horrible way to spend my life.”

“I just wanna do something exciting! It’s not that I hate working on the farm, but I feel like I should be doing something more.” Link frowned and stared at the back of his left hand. It was being covered by a brown, fingerless glove, but he still knew what was underneath.

“Laugh and call it the destiny triangle all you want, I don’t wanna waste it. Farore must’ve given it to me for a reason.”

Zach stared at his brother and sighed. He threw an arm over Link’s shoulders and shook his head. “S’long as you’re happy, I don’t care what ya do. Just, if you’re gonna move to Castle Town to serve the royals, don’t forget to come visit us peasant folk back on the farm,” Zach said, ruffling Link’s hair.

Link laughed and shoved his brother off of him. “Ugh, no way! I wanna get as far away from you as possible! Maybe I’ll send a letter or two if you’re lucky!”

“Oh, thank you, noble hero!” Zach over dramatically praised. “We are unworthy of your words!”

Link laughed and shook his head. “I haven’t left yet, don’t worry. We still got a few years before I go.”

A loud bell clanging from the town center stopped their laughter. Months of run errands for their mom, and neither one of them had ever heard that bell before. Their dad had warned them that if they heard the bell to go listen to the message, since it comes directly from the castle. Link and Zach hopped down from the crates, grabbed their bags, and headed back to the fountain in the center of town.

Castle Town was always crowded, but the bell ringer turned the constantly moving crowd into a condensed mass of people all pushing to get closer to the fountain. Link grabbed Zach to stop him from attempting to push his way through the crowd.

“What?” Zach asked. “I can’t see from back here!”

Link let go of his brother and pointed to the roof of the building right behind them, smirking. “Give me a boost.”

Zach grinned and linked his hands together, giving Link a step. Zach managed to help push Link up onto the low hanging roof. Once up, Link reached down to help Zach up. They climbed higher to a flat point on the slanted roof and laid down, resting their chins on their palms.

Once the crowd settled, the bell ringer stopped. Surprisingly, he didn’t pull out a scroll or anything and just jumped right into his speech.

“This is an official emergency message from the castle!” he shouted. A panicked whisper arose in the crowd. The messenger picked up his bell and rang it again to silence them.

“What’da think happened?” Link asked, keeping his voice down.

Zach rolled his eyes. “I doubt it’s an actual emergency. Rich people can be so over dramatic sometimes. It’s probably nothing to worry about.”

The bell stopped ringing, but the messenger didn’t bother setting it down this time. The messenger was clearly shaking, but he still stood up tall to deliver the news.

“The queen has been murdered!” he shouted. “And the princess, Heaven, is missing!”

It was dead silent in the town. No one knew what to say. Link and Zach stared at each other, eyes wide with worry.

The messenger continued. “The murderer has yet to be caught, but the royal knights are doing everything in their power to capture the criminal behind this! A curfew is being put in place, and everyone in Castle Town in expected to be indoors by sunset until further notice! Any and all suspicious behavior is to be reported!”

“Zach, we gotta go home. Now,” Link whispered.

“Will they even let us leave since they don’t have the killer yet?” Zach asked. “What if us leaving makes them suspicious of us?”

“We have our goods with us. We also left our horses at the stable. We wouldn’t have had time to go shopping, break into the castle, kill the queen, kidnap the princess, and make it back to the stables,” Link explained. “But the longer we wait, the more suspicious we look! Worse comes to worse, I’ll show them my hand. They aren’t likely to turn down the hero.”

“But you’re not a hero yet!” Zach argued. “All you have is the mark!”

“It’s the best chance we got, now come on!” Link urged, standing up. “We gotta go!”

Link slid down the roof and jumped down back into the alleyway. Zach stood up to follow, but a flash of color caught his eye. On the roof of a building on the other side of the fountain stood a figure cloaked in teal. It was too far away for Zach to make out any details, but the color was bright enough to stand out. The person had their hood pulled up and they were half hidden behind the chimney on top of the building.

Zach watched as another person climbed up and tapped the cloaked figure. The two then quickly made their way back down to the ground and vanished.

“Zach, come on!” Link called. The messenger was still talking, but Zach ignored what he was saying and slid down the roof to join his brother in the alleyway.

“What took you so long?” Link asked as they pushed their way through the crowd, trying to make it to the drawbridge.

“I saw someone on the roof across the fountain,” Zach said. “I don’t know, it was weird.”

“We were on the roof too. They probably couldn’t see just like us.”

“Yeah, I don’t know, I guess the news about the queen is messing with my head. I’m being paranoid,” Zach sighed. “Let’s just go home.”

They pushed through the crowd in silence. Zach let his eyes wander every now and then to see if he could spot the teal cloaked figure, but he found nothing. The stable people handed over Epona and Orcus and vouched for the brothers to the guards at the front gate, so thankfully they were able to leave without Link revealing his Triforce mark. As much as Zach joked about it, he knew that if the guards knew who Link was, they would take him to the royal family immediately, and with the queen’s murder and princess Heaven’s kidnapping, Zach didn’t want to risk losing his brother so soon. He only had a little over two years to spend time with his brother. He didn’t want to lose a single day.

They didn’t bother racing back to Oridon. Instead, Link and Zach opted to ride next to each other. Neither one of them spoke. They weren’t exactly sure what to say. Sure, they didn’t know the queen personally, but everyone always spoke of her in high regard. She was a caring ruler who looked out for her subjects. The fact that someone would want to murder her was insane, but clearly someone thought she deserved to die.

“What do we say when we get back?” Link asked after a bit. “Do we tell mom and dad first? Or mayor Bo? Or do we wait for a messenger to come and deliver the news?”

Zach shrugged. “We can tell ma and dad right away. As for the mayor, I say we either let dad tell him or wait for the messenger. I don’t exactly want to be the one to deliver the bad news.”

Link nodded in agreement and the two fell back to silence. It didn’t take too long for them to make it back to Oridon. Link offered to take Orcus back to the barn, leaving Zach to go inside and break the bad news.

Zach opened the door and called out for his mom. She yelled from the kitchen and he went to find her.

“Perfect timing, Zach!” she sighed in relief, coming over to take his bag. “I was just getting ready to start dinner! What took ya boys so long?”

Zach handed over the bag and took a deep breath. “There was an emergency bell.”

“Oh gods, are you two alright?” his mom gasped. She put the bag down and cupped Zach’s face in her hands. “What happened? Where’s Link?”

Zach shook her off. “Link’s fine, he’s putting up Epona and Orcus.”

“What happened?” his mother repeated.

“The queen’s been murdered and princess Heaven’s missing. I’m assuming she was kidnapped by whoever killed the queen.”

“Oh my, for the love of Nayru, Zach if this is some kind of prank-”

“I’m not joking, ma!” Zach snapped. “Queen Esmerelda’s been killed and one of the princesses are missing! Do you think that’s something I’d joke about?”

Link walked in to his mom and brother shouting at each other. Nothing new, but he still went to see what exactly caused the argument.

“-gonna take him sooner than we planned!”

“No one’s taking anyone, ma! Calm down!’

Link walked into the kitchen and knocked on the wall. The shouting stopped and Zach turned around to see who was there. Link pressed his lips together and forced himself to smile despite all of the tension. “Is this a bad time?”

“Oh Link, I’m so glad you’re safe!” his mom cried, running over to hug him. “Zach told me what happened! Are you okay?”

Zach rolled his eyes at his mom and pushed past her to go to his room. Link patted his mom’s back in an attempt to comfort her.

“I’m fine, ma, really!”

“You’re not going back to Castle Town anytime soon, mister!” she declared, stepping back from the hug, but leaving her hands on Link’s shoulders.

“Ma, you worry too much,” Link groaned. “We’re not royalty. I highly doubt Zach and I have targets on our backs.”

“Don’t argue with me! You’re not leaving Oridon until further notice!” his mom ordered. “Heck, you’re not leaving this house for the rest of the day!”

“Mom…” Link groaned.

“Nope, I’ve made up my mind!” she declared. Link sighed and pulled away from her to follow Zach into their room.

“And don’t even think about sneaking out later or else you’ll be grounded, mister!” his mom shouted after him.

Link ignored her and closed the door to their room behind him. Zach was laying down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“She put you on house arrest too?” Link asked. He kicked off his boots and sat down on his own bed, across from Zach’s.

“Nope. Didn’t even ban me from going to Castle Town.”

“What! That’s not fair!” Link whined.

Zach just grunted in annoyance, still not looking over at Link.

“What? You wanna be banned from going into town?”

Zach sighed and shut his eyes. “No. I just wish she wouldn’t play favorites and make it this obvious.”

“What do ya mean?” Link asked.

Zach sat up and glared at Link. Link could tell his brother wasn’t mad at him, just angry with the situation, but the glare was still shocking.

“Oh please! She doesn’t care what happens to me, but you? Suddenly you’re not allowed to even leave the house! I understand her being protective, but you think she’d at least make it a little harder to tell who her favorite son is.”

Link frowned. “I don’t get it. You think her keeping me under house arrest is her playing favorites? Zach, I’m the one being punished here!”

“You’re not looking at this from her perspective!” Zach argued. “She worried for you, so she keeps you in town. She’s worried because she loves you and doesn’t want the royal family to snatch you up the second they find out your Farore’s chosen hero! That makes sense!”

Zach stood up. “But now with the queen dead, she’s worried about what dangers are out there! That’s a different fear, but a fear she has nonetheless. However, instead of worrying about both of us enough to ban both of us from going into town, she only bans you! She doesn’t care if I go into town with a murderer on the loose, so long as her special son is still safe!”

Link stood up and glared back at his brother. “I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t want to be Farore’s chosen, but I didn’t get a say! It’s not my fault! I can’t control how ma treats me!”

“I know!” Zach groaned. “I’m not mad at you, I’m just mad!”

The older twin fell back onto his bed and buried his face in his hands. Link softened his glare and walked over to Zach’s bed, taking a seat next to him.

“You know she loves you,” Link whispered. “She’s just scared I’m gonna leave sooner than intended. I keep telling her I’m not going anywhere until I’m fifteen, but she doesn’t listen, you know that.”

“I know,” Zach sighed. “It’s just, sometimes I feel like she forgets she has two sons instead of one.”

Link kicked Zach’s feet and smiled. “I can’t speak for ma, but trust me, I’ll never forget that I have a brother.”

Zach sat up and pushed his brother, laughing. “You’re such a sap!”

“What do you want from me!” Link laughed. “You get mad that ma ignores you, yet you don’t want me to pay attention to you!”

“Shut up!” Zach laughed, chucking his pillow at his younger twin. Link fell back dramatically at the hit and laid on the floor for a moment before throwing the pillow right back in Zach’s face. The thrown pillow acted as a declaration of war as the two began to thrown whatever they could get their hands on at each other. Books, pillows, shoes, it was a full on free for all. The only thing that mattered was both brothers were laughing and smiling the whole time, trying to forget about the events from earlier in the day.


	2. Chapter 2

The news of Queen Esmerelda’s murder and Princess Heaven’s disappearance spread quickly throughout Hyrule. While no additional attacks were reported, Link was still not allowed to leave the village. Two weeks flew by and all the poor boy was allowed to do was hang around Oridon. Link had nothing against the residents of his home village, but it still wasn’t pleasant to be trapped in such a small area for so long while Zach was able to leave whenever.

Zach tried arguing with his mother to let Link at least take Epona out into Hyrule Field so the poor horse wasn’t confined to the village, but she held firm with her decision. Their dad wasn’t much help either, choosing to side with his wife over his children.

Link still felt bad that he couldn’t take Epona out, so he asked Ilia to take her out for a ride every now and then. The mayor’s daughter had no issue with the request and spent most of her time out in Hyrule Field with his horse. While Link was glad Epona didn’t have to suffer with him, he still wished he could be the one out there with her.

At the end of two weeks, Link found himself pouting under their apple tree while Zach climbed up to pick the fruit.

“Link, could ya at least hold the basket for me?” Zach asked. “I don’t wanna fall and drop everything.”

“You won’t fall,” Link said, a hint of bitterness in his tone. “You never fall.

Zach hooked his legs on the branch he was seated on and flipped so he was hanging upside down. He managed to keep hold of the basket without spilling any of the fruit.

“True, but you could still help,” he grinned, handing Link the basket. Link took it without looking up at his brother. Zach frowned and stuck his tongue out at him before sitting back up in the tree.

“Can I trust you to catch what I throw down at you?” Zach asked.

“I don’t understand why I still can’t leave!” Link grumbled, ignoring his brother.

Zach bit his lip and frowned. “Take that as a _no_.”

“You get to leave whenever!” Link continued to rant. “If anything, ma should be more worried for you since you don’t have a piece of the Triforce! If this thing is supposed to be a blessing from the goddesses, don’tcha think that means I have a goddess looking out for me? Does she really think Farore would give this to me if I was gonna die before doing anything heroic?”

Zach sighed and climbed down to the branch right above Link’s head and sat down. “I don’t think she’s worried for your safety as much as she worried that someone’s gonna find out who you are and go telling the royal family. You gave her until your fifteenth birthday. She doesn’t want anyone taking you away before that.”

“I already said I wasn’t gonna leave until I turned fifteen,” Link pouted. “What makes her think I’d leave sooner?”

Zach groaned. “You’re not listening! It’s not that she thinks you’ll leave sooner of your own free will! It’s that she thinks the royal family is gonna send for you before you turn fifteen! You can’t turn down an invitation from the royal family. It’d look bad.”

“They can’t force me to go if I don’t wanna.”

Zach laughed and jumped down. “Oh yes they can! It’s called being rich and in charge. Kinda gives them the power to do whatever they want.”

Zach held out a hand to help Link up. He was still annoyed, but Link took his brother’s hand anyway and stood up, still holding onto the basket.

“Ma’s gonna have to go to the Castle Town market soon,” Zach pointed out. “Since she can’t ride and dad’s always busy, she’ll probably end up sending us. She can’t afford to keep you in the village forever.”

Link smiled. “Yeah, you’re right! Maybe she’ll let us go today! Come on!”

Link started running back towards the house, leaving Zach behind. He shifted the basket to carry it under his arm so he could open the door.

“Ma! Ma!” Link shouted as soon as he was inside.

“Jeez Link! Don’t scare me like that!” his mother said, stepping out of the kitchen. “What is it?”

“Don’tcha need someone to go to the market soon?” Link asked, setting down the basket of apples. Zach stepped inside and closed the door, chuckling at his brother’s excitement.

“Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me,” their mother smiled. She looked over at Zach. “Zach, I got a list of a few things I need from Castle Town. You should have plenty of time to make it there and back before sunset.”

Zach stared at his mother before turning to watch Link’s face fall.

“You’re gonna send him by himself?” Link asked.

“Zach’s old enough to go by himself.”

Zach turned his attention back to his mother. “You’re joking right? We’re twins.”

“You’re the older twin,” their mother shrugged.

“Yeah, by _three minutes_!” Zach argued.

“Enough,” she snapped. “Link, you know you’re not allowed to leave Oridon yet! The more you bug me, the longer you’re gonna end up staying!”

“But it’s not fair!” Link whined.

“I’m sick of your whining! You’re twelve, not three! You’re not going to Castle Town today and _that’s final_!”

Link groaned and stormed off to his room, slamming the door behind him. Their mother sighed and went into her room to fetch Zach a list and some rupees. When she came back, she returned to Zach glaring at her.

“You can’t keep him here forever,” he told her. “All you’re doing is driving him away. He said he’d wait until he’s fifteen before running off to become a knight, but we all know he’s of age to go now if he so desired.”

“Zachariah, I don’t wanna hear it,” his mother snapped.

“You’re gonna be living it if you’re not careful,” Zach warned. “Actually, I take that back, you’re gonna be living it if you _continue_ to be too careful.”

“I know, Zach!” she sighed. “I know! I just… Gods, he is already destined to have a dangerous life! I don’t want to lose him while he’s still a kid!”

“The issue about us being twins is that you can’t use the age excuse on one of us. You telling Link that he can’t leave but I can is you playing favorites and we both Link and I know it.”

“I’m not playing favorites,” his mother denied.

“Oh really?” Zach chuckled. “Link thinks I’m your favorite because I’m allowed to leave the village. However, I _know_ Link is your favorite because you’re prioritizing his safety over mine.”

“I am not playing favorites,” his mother repeated. “Link is destined for something, but I don’t know what. Whatever it is though is bound to be not only dangerous, but it’s going to take him away from us, his family! He’s twelve! He’s not old enough to go fight monsters or save a kingdom!

“You on the other hand, Zach, you aren’t tied to some scary, unknown destiny. There’s no goddess mark saying you’re meant to put your life in danger for other’s sake, and while saying you don’t have a goddesses blessing might sound like a bad thing, I promise you, it’s not. It honestly gives me room to breathe.”

His mother sighed and lowered her head. Her knuckles were turning white from gripping the list and small bag of rupees so tight. “Zach, I didn’t mean to make you guys think I was playing favorites. I- we’ll talk about this more when you get back.”

She handed over the list and rupees, still keeping her head down.

“I can’t let Link go with you,” she whispered. “But when you get back, we’ll all talk about what to do next.” She looked up and smiled at Zach. “I never meant to make you think I favored Link, or make Link think I favored you. You’re both my sons and I love both of you.”

Zach didn’t know how to respond, so he just nodded, muttered a quick ‘love you too’ and left. He pocketed the list and rupees without looking them over and headed straight for the barn where Orcus was waiting.

Or at least, he _thought_ Orcus would be waiting there for him. Both Epona and Orcus’ stalls were opened and empty.

“Ilia,” he sighed. He left the barn and made his way towards Hyrule Field. Sure enough, there was Ilia with both horses in tow. She was happily riding Epona around while Orcus grazed nearby. Zach whistled once to get Orcus’ attention and his horse wasted no time trotting over. Ilia heard the whistle too and pulled Epona to a halt.

“Oh, hi Zach!” she greeted. “Wasn’t expecting you to leave Oridon today since Link still can’t go with you.”

“Is that why you stole my horse?” Zach asked, climbing on top of Orcus.

Ilia blushed and shook her head. “Stole is such a strong word-”

“I’m sorry, _took without_ _permission_.”

“Oh hush!” she snipped. “Clearly you knew where he was! Plus, you’re acting like you don’t know me!”

Zach rolled his eyes and directed Orcus towards Castle Town. “Don’t take Orcus out again without asking me first.”

With that, he pushed Orcus into a gallop and started making his way towards Castle Town, leaving an annoyed Ilia behind. Zach silently wished Epona would throw Ilia off of her back one day just to show her she’s not as good as she thinks she is. Just because she’s best friends with the rancher’s daughter who sold them the horses, she thinks that makes an expert.

It took a little longer to reach Castle Town than normal. Without Link and Epona to race, there was no reason to rush.

Since the queen’s murder, the king issued more knights to patrol around Hyrule Field. The murderer was still out there and Princess Heaven was still missing. The king even put out a reward to anyone who can safely return his daughter, but so far nothing.

Zach did get stopped once on his way to Castle Town by a knight. All he had to do was answer some simple routine questions about where he was going and why.

“You seem a little young to be traveling all by yourself,” the knight commented after giving Zach the okay to continue.

“Typically, my brother is with me, but my mom’s keeping him at home,” Zach shrugged. “You know, since there’s a murderer still out.”

“Ah, younger brother I assume?” the knight asked.

Zach gripped Orcus’ reigns a little tighter and fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah, you could say that.”

Zach tapped his heels against Orcus’ sides to get him moving again and the pair continued their commute to Castle Town. Zach dismounted at the bridge like always and walked Orcus to the stable.

The stable boy who was always there frowned as Zach handed over Orcus’ reigns. “Where’s the other one?”

“Sick,” Zach lied, tossing him a blue rupee. He walked away before the stable boy could ask anymore questions. He was tired of everyone reminding him that Link wasn’t there. He pulled out his mother’s list and quickly scanned it over before shoving it back in his pocket.

Zach was shocked by the realization of how much Link’s presence effected their spending. Without him, Zach ended up paying full price for just about everything. Even the kind elderly lady who gave them candies last time with the sugar charged him full price, candies not included.

It was strange. Yeah, Link was more of a people person than Zach, but he always assumed that the people they bought from liked both of them.

Normally, he and Link would hang out in Castle Town after buying everything and just enjoy the change in scenery, but Zach was just done with the whole day and wanted to get back home as soon as possible. Plus, with the curfew in effect, he didn’t want any knights stopping him on his way back home.

He threw his bag over his shoulder and started making his way back towards the gate, grumbling quietly to himself. If Link were there, he’d kick Zach’s ass for being such a downer. There were worse chores than running errands, but Zach couldn’t care less.

Someone ran into Zach on his way towards the front. The person who hit him stumbled and grabbed onto Zach’s bag to catch themselves. Zach reached out and grabbed their arm, pulling them up before they could hit the ground.

“Jeez, watch where you’re going,” Zach grumbled. He paused for a moment though when he saw who hit him.

The person was clothed in a teal cloak, the very same from two weeks ago. Their skin was darker than most Hylians, and dark brown curls stuck out from under their hood. The person was a boy, only a few years older than Zach by the looks of it. He stood up and smiled awkwardly, dusting himself off, hands covered by thick, leather, fingerless gloves.

“My apologies,” he said, standing up straight. “I am not use to being in crowds.”

Zach blinked and shook his head. “No, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” Zach stuck out his hand in an attempt to apologize for being short earlier. “Name’s Zach.”

“Siddharth,” the boy said, reaching out to shake Zach’s hand.

 He flinched slightly at the contact, causing Zach to eye him questionably. “You okay?”

Siddharth pulled away and nodded once. “Yeah, I uh, fell earlier. Scraped up my palms. It is no big deal.”

Zach hesitated a bit before shrugging it off. “Okay. I gotta get going. See ya.” He waved bye and quickly turned around to leave, leaving Siddharth behind. As polite as the stranger had been, there was something about him that made Zach want to get home as soon as possible.  He wove in and out of the crowd, eventually making it back to the stables where Orcus was waiting for him.

“Tell your brother I hope he gets better soon,” the stable boy said as Zach climbed onto Orcus.

“Will do,” Zach said, only half paying attention to him.

The ride home was a little faster, but that was because Zach was trying to get home as soon as possible. He didn’t feel too bad pushing Orcus a little harder on the return trip since they didn’t race earlier.

Ilia was gone when Zach got back and Epona was back in her stall in the barn. Zach put Orcus up and patted Epona’s side.

“If ma doesn’t let Link go to Castle Town in two weeks again, I’ll ask about taking you with me,” Zach told her. Epona gave no indication that she understood what he said. He turned around and left the barn, heading back to the house.

He threw open the door, announcing his return before kicking off his boots. No one answered so Zach made his way into the kitchen to unpack the groceries. He let his mind wander as he put away the food.

There was something off about that boy, Siddharth. He seemed friendly enough, but two weeks ago, Zach watched him and another hooded figure run away from the messenger reporting on the queen’s murder. Zach didn’t see anyone else there with him today, but that didn’t help to ease the feeling of unease in his gut. Also, the way Siddharth had flinched when he shook hands. He claimed to have scrapped up his hand, but the gloves he was wearing were made from a tough leather. They should’ve prevented him from doing any harm…

Zach shook his head and finished putting the groceries away. He was over thinking it. Everyone was on edge since the queen was killed and Princess Heaven went missing. Zach and Link had done the same thing as Siddharth and the other hooded figured during the announcement in Castle Town. They had used the roofs to get a better view point, and they left pretty quick while the announcement was still going on to avoid the crowd and double check to make sure they were allowed to leave.

He grabbed his bag and went back to his room, tossing the bag in the corner near the door once inside. There was a folded-up piece of paper on top of his bed. Zach sat down and unfolded the paper.

_Went on a walk with ma. Dad went a couple buddies to Kakariko and won’t be back till tomorrow. If we’re not back when the sun starts to set, ma’s wondering if you can start dinner? Your choice if you make it._

_-Link_

Zach reread the first sentence a few times just to make sure he understood what was going on. His ma took Link out for a walk? If she’s asking Zach to start dinner, that means they went outside Oridon’s boarders.

Was his mom finally going to realize she was over reacting and let Link leave the village again? Zach let out a sigh of relief and set the note down. If his assumption was correct, first thing tomorrow he was going to take Link out to race. There was no way Link would beat Zach and Orcus while being two weeks out of practice. Ilia taking Epona out almost every day, while helpful, was not enough of a work out to keep Epona in top racing form.

Zach made his way back into the kitchen to see what they had for dinner. He found everything needed to make beef stew and set it out before grabbing the metal pot, putting his boots back on, and heading out of the house towards the Oridon spring to fetch fresh water. Normally, his ma would use the water in the house, but the spring water always had a much better taste. His ma said Zach could make what he wanted, and he wanted stew made with spring water.

The path into the forest just outside of the village had been walked hundreds of times over, leaving it flat and easy to travel. The walk itself was short, not even ten minutes. Zach pushed open the gate leading to the spring and knelt down by the water’s edge. He dipped the pot into the spring, collecting enough water for his stew.

As he stood up, a hint of movement caught his eye. On top of the small waterfall, off to the side crouched a small girl. She was cupping her hands and bringing them up to her mouth to drink before dipping them back into the water and repeating the process.

Zach watched her silently. He knew everyone that lived within the village. He also knew all of the frequent visitors that came to trade.

He did not know this girl.

Her hair was dirty blond and short, barely touching her shoulders. It was choppy, almost like she cut it herself. Her shirt and pants were baggy, obviously too big for her. There were no shoes on her feet. Everything about her screamed _poor; in need._

Zach took a step forward and opened his mouth to call out to her, but the second he moved, her head darted up and they made eye contact. Before he could get a word in, she fled into the trees, hardly making a sound.


End file.
